Google™ Calendar

Google™ is constantly coming up with innovative ways to provide us with quick and easy access to the information we need. In addition to hosting the biggest search engine in the world, Google™ also offers a great desktop search bar, a mapping program with detailed driving directions, and even a photo management system. Now Google™ has turned its sights on keeping our days organized with Google™ Calendar.

As with most of Google’s applications, Google™ Calendar costs nothing and signing up is as easy as logging on to www.Google™.com/calendar and creating a free account. It will take you all of two minutes to accomplish this. Once you’ve registered, organizing your schedule is only a few clicks away. If you’re still apprehensive, take comfort in knowing that Google™ Calendar works like most personal scheduling programs but with a few added perks.

For starters, Google™ Calendar is fairly user-friendly, offering daily, weekly, and monthly views of your schedule. The program also offers the ability to create personal calendars for things like American holidays or birthdays. Any calendar you set up can be easily integrated with Google™’s email program, Gmail. This allows you to quickly add events mentioned in Gmail conversations as well most other events you find online.

Google™ Calendar also gives you the ability to share your schedule with others and vice versa. Perfect for families on the go or business associates at opposite ends of the country, Google™ Calendar maintains your privacy by allowing you to pick and choose which events you want others to see. The program also allows you to plan and promote events by giving you the ability to send invitations as well as track RSVPs.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of Google™ Calendar is the options it gives you in terms of reminders. Whenever you schedule an important event, Google™ Calendar gives you the option of receiving a reminder via email, an online pop-up, or a SMS (short message service) which is a text message that arrives via your cell phone.

Google™ Calendar also has a really great tool which allows you to search all of your calendars for specific information. While the program integrates fairly well with most existing scheduling programs, it does require a little manipulation in some instances. One other feature worth noting is called “Quick Add”. This enables you to add events to your schedule simply by clicking a link and then typing in the relevant event information in “natural language” (i.e. Tom’s party next Saturday at 8:00pm).

Whether you’re completely disorganized or simply on the fence about your current scheduling program, you may want to give Google™Calendar a try. It may open your eyes to some interesting new options!

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